OAKLAND, Calif. - Anthony Morrow scored 34 points, Corey Maggette added 23 and the Golden State Warriors beat the New Orleans Hornets 126-92 in a pre-season game Thursday night.
Stephen Curry, the Warriors' first-round draft pick, broke out of his offensive slump with 14 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, while Monta Ellis had 18 points and six assists for Golden State (4-4) in its final exhibition game.
"I thought the difference was Curry," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "We started to move the ball better and push the ball. He got his shot back a little bit and that was good to see as well."
Darius Songaila had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Hornets (2-5), while Darren Collison added 17 points and five assists.
With the start of the regular season less than a week away, both teams rested the majority of their starters.
The Warriors played without Stephen Jackson (hamstring), Andris Biedrins (sick), Kelenna Azubuike (ankle), Anthony Randolph (back, knee) and Devean George (knee). The Hornets were minus Chris Paul (flu), Emeka Okafor (toe) and Ike Diogu (knee).
Maggette, one of two projected starters who did play, had 12 points early but the Warriors didn't take their first lead until a free throw by Ellis nearly four minutes into the second quarter that was part of a 17-6 run.
Golden State led 55-53 at halftime then took control for good with a big third quarter keyed by Curry, who had his best game since being taken with the seventh overall pick in the NBA draft this past June.
Curry, who has struggled with his shooting during the pre-season, got the Warriors going with a three-pointer early in the third quarter. He later had a steal and a behind-the-back assist to Ellis, who returned the favour by dishing the ball to Curry on a fastbreak the very next time down court to help give Golden State a 69-59 lead.
"My main focus is to push the tempo with my fresh legs when I'm coming off the bench," Curry said. "As a result I found myself in the lane a lot more tonight in being able to make cross-court passes to guys when they see me driving."
Before the game Nelson talked about his frustrations in getting the rookie going offensively and Curry responded.
"All my concerns were answered, defence, toughness," Nelson said. "He struggled a little bit with his shot but he's going to be a great shooter."
Ellis, Golden State's point guard in 2008, spent most of his night at off-guard and went 8 of 14 from the field. Nelson said he plans to use the veteran at both spots during the regular season but wants Ellis to take on more of a scoring role.
Morrow filled that position against New Orleans, scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter when the Warriors led by as many as 32.
The Hornets committed 12 turnovers in the second half and shot just 44 per cent from the field for the game.
"I just didn't like the second half, period," New Orleans coach Byron Scott said. "We just didn't come out with the right frame of mind. It was probably the worst half I've seen us play in a long time."
Collison, who played 30-plus minutes with Paul out, blamed himself for the Hornets' offensive problems in the second half when the Warriors went on runs of 13-0, 15-3 and 11-0.
"It's communication, and it starts with the point guard," Collison said. "I thought we broke down the last 10 minutes, but the most important thing was the turnovers. They took advantage of it."
